Shortly after the Russian master Igor Stravinsky left Europe in 1939 to settle in sunny and joyful California, he began to experience financial problems. The royalties which, until then, had assured him regular income in France, were not available in this promising new world. He blamed this, through negligence, on his former partner Sergei Diaghilev, with whom he had known success and fame in Paris after The Firebird and The Rite of Spring premieres. Faced with financial uncertainty, Stravinsky wrote several short works with the explicit purpose of making some money. Tango, for piano, is one of them.
Two years earlier the maestro had lost his eldest daughter to tuberculosis. The following year, months before the outbreak of the Second World War, his wife and then his mother died. But the maestro did not take long to get back on his feet. At the beginning of 1940, shortly after giving some famous lectures at Harvard University, he married the former Russian ballerina Vera de Bosset, with whom he had maintained a parallel relationship for many years. Soon after, Stravinski and his new wife were settled in Hollywood. The war was still raging in the old world. At the end of the conflict, both took American citizenship.
Tango, for piano
Although somewhat free rhythmically, the atmosphere of the dance is unmistakable in its three minutes of extension. A light but charming piece that does not hide the lightness of its genesis. As the consummate pianist he was, Stravinsky will have amazed audiences. But he went a step further. Seeking maximum return, he tried transcribing it to different orchestral combinations, including jazz band. Finally, he topped off with two arrangements for chamber orchestra and one for violin and piano.
The rendition is by the Israeli pianist Einav Yarden.
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